Courage
by Hikou no Kokoro
Summary: Courage is the magic that turns dreams to reality." To Hinata, the lack of courage prevents her from admiting her love. Finally, Kiba urges her on. Will this be a happily ever after? Or a sudden heartbreak? HinaXNaru. First shojo I've ever written! Enjoy!


**KONNICHIWA! Heheh, this is just a random little . . . what-you-call-it story that only takes up one chapter. What is it called? One-shot? Drabble? Fluff? I dunno. There are too many terms! I just need to know a few to survive. I think its one-shot, right? RIGHT?!**

**Sorry if this pace isn't in a few people's taste. And, I'm not great with romance and shojo and stuff. Heh. I just thought this story would be kinda cute. Also, I'm not sure if any of these characters are OOC or not. I gave this to Kit-chan (A friend who's ADDICTED to Naruto. Well, not anymore after her favorite character was kicked out later in the series. Plus, the plot isn't all that great. Sorry.) and she said it was okay. These things aren't under our "Best qualities list." Well, I hope you guys enjoy this.**

**This takes place in . . . non-shippuden. What's that called? Younger Naruto, pre-series, uh . . . Not shippuden.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "Naruto" or the quote in here. (You'll realize it later on).**

* * *

Courage

"Hi Hinata!" the spiky-haired blond called over, walking towards a brunette. "What're you doing here?"

"W-Wha-Wha?!" Hinata stuttered violently, "N-Naruto?" Her face burned up, turning her peach face red. She could feel her legs shake uncontrollably as she watched him advance towards her, the oblivious smile of his still plastered across his face.

"Hey! Hinata! Are you okay?!" Naruto shouted, running towards the Hyuga as she fell to the ground.

* * *

The black-haired girl(1) wandered around the woods, embarrassed because she had fainted right in front of Naruto. Her fingers twiddled around as she felt the familiar burning sensation that crept up across her cheeks. Her eyes aimed downwards, hoping that her bangs covered up her face so anyone that was around wouldn't see the distinct blush that lurked on her cheeks.

"Hey, Hinata!" a voice called down to her. "What're you doin' getting lost here?"(2)

Hinata gasped in surprise, toppling over as a taller figure unexpectedly landed in front of her. "K-Kiba? When d-did you get here?" she asked, sitting up.

The Inuzuka laughed and helped Hinata up. Grinning, he picked up Akamaru and placed it on his head. "Akamaru and I were training here until Akamaru sniffed you out and decided to play," he explained, sticking his hands into his pockets. "So, what brought you here?"

"O-oh . . ." Hinata stuttered, reverting back to staring at her fiddling hands. Pondering on a way to answer Kiba's question, her mind instantly said _"I saw Naruto and then I fainted, so now I'm totally embarrassed with myself. That's why I'm here in the woods so no one would find me – especially Naruto."_ Of course, that would make her more ashamed of herself, so that wasn't an option. "Uh . . . uh . . . uh . . ." she breathed as she realized that her cheeks were apple-colored from the embarrassing memory that played in the back of her mind.

Kiba grinned evilly, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "It has something to do with Naruto, doesn't it?" he accused, his smirk growing wider.

"AH! N-n-no! I-it has N-NOTHING to do w-with him!" Hinata stammered, waving her hands in front of Kiba's face as if to wipe out a speech bubble that floated in the air. "You're just making things up!" She stopped waving around her hands and lowered them a bit. She glared pleadingly up at Kiba, hoping that she had some sort "psychic" powers to force the dog boy to leave and forget the whole conversation – even though it was so short.

"No, now I KNOW it's something to do with that knuckle-head," Kiba teased. "I also know that you LIKE him!" Akamaru barked in agreement, wagging its tail energetically. It seemed to smile just as accusingly as its master.

Kiba's words made Hinata's face beet red. "H-how do you know?" she panicked, realizing that no matter how many times she would say it was false, Kiba would always know the true facts. "Is it really that obvious?"

"Yeah," Kiba said, making Hinata feel worse. "Everyone knows about it; all except Naruto maybe. He's so slow. I mean, seriously, you keep fainting in front of him, but that's not the big reason. After all, anyone would probably be fainting when near him. Even I would."

"WHAT?!" Hinata shrieked, ready to slap a bit of sense into the boy.

"I mean, he SMELLS!" Kiba explained, pinching his nose. "Especially after he trains. Yuck." He spat at the ground.

Hinata shut her eyes tightly, ashamed of ever thinking such a thing. Whoops.

"Anyway, the biggest thing that gives it all away would be that you blush anytime he's near, or even mentioned," Kiba continued.

Hinata squeaked, covering her cheeks with her hands as an attempt to conceal her crimson cheeks. Unfortunately, the red glow from her face seems to shine right through her hands to make them just as red as her countenance. "What?" she squeaked, watching Kiba laugh at her reaction.

"See? You LOVE him!" Kiba teased. His smirk grew larger and eviler. "And you want to go out with him, don't you?"

"NO I DON'T! NO I DON'T! Where do you get that from?!" Hinata screamed, shaking her head from side to side. She scrunched her eyes shut as her black hair whapped across her face.

Unluckily for Hinata, just that reaction supported Kiba's suspicion all the way to one hundred percent. He pointed at Hinata's face, just a few inches away from her nose. "Your face says it all," he stated bluntly. "But, at the rate you're going, you'll never get him."

Hinata whimpered pathetically, shrugging her shoulder to hide her neck as if Kiba had a knife up to her throat. Her body tensed as she twiddled her fingers in front of her pale eyes. She always wanted to ask Naruto, but she was much too afraid to ask because of the fear that he might reject her.

Kiba sighed, noticing that he accidentally pushed a sore spot. "Either if Naruto declines or accept, in order to know, you'll have to ask. If he accepts, then that's great. If he declines, then you don't need to hang in suspense any longer and can move on. Simple as that."

Hinata gulped, trying to take in every word her teammate said, one by one. Somehow, those words seemed comforting and discouraging. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, pushing it down to make it relax. She looked up at Kiba. He didn't look like the normal rash, arrogant boy that always spoke so loudly and insensitively. This time, he looked like a big brother with strange red marks that across his cheeks.

"And in order to do that, you'll need courage. Like my grandma always says, 'Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality,'" Kiba quoted, trying to sound like a withered old lady as he said the mantra. "So muster up your courage and go ask him today. I'll be cheering for you here."

The Hyuga's face instantly lit up, happy for the support that the dog boy gave her. "Alright," she nodded. "Thanks."

* * *

Hinata slowly crawled her way to the clearing where she knew Naruto would be. After all, that place was his favorite place to train because it was his old training area before. Three wooden poles stood proudly in the middle, the center log had an eccentric alarm clock that sat on top.

She stood behind a tree, glancing around the area to find the blonde boy. She felt like an ambusher doing such things, but her lack of courage prevented her from walking into the clearing to search. Suddenly, a familiar "Hi Hinata!" called to her, making her tense up with surprise.

"Hey, are you all right?" Naruto asked in the middle of the clearing, waving his hand over his head. "You fainted earlier today."

Seeing him, Hinata slowly inched into the warm sunlight, away from the shadows that were cast down from the towering trees. "Uh, yeah, I-I'm okay," she said, her body tempting her to turn tail and run. She could see Naruto much more clearly as she gradually walked closer. Naruto's bright blue eyes showed concern and his lopsided grin covered it up. Sweat trickled down from his forehead and dripped from his chin. The yellow hair were spiked and messed up, strands of it stuck out and bent with the wind.

"Okay," Naruto said skeptically. "So, what do you want?"

"Uh . . . Uh . . . Uh . . . !" Hinata shook, still trying to resist the strong urge to flee from the scene. _No, no, Hinata,_ she thought,_ Kiba's waiting and supporting you for this! You mustn't disappoint him! 'Courage is the magic that turns dreams to reality!' Remember that!_ She gulped, her fingers twiddling once more. "Uh . . . Um . . . Naruto?"

"Yeah?" Naruto looked down, a quizzical look appearing across his face.

"Uh . . . uh . . .!" _Come on Hinata! No regrets now! Y'hear?!_ a little voice scolded her from the back of her mind. "Uh . . . Naruto, I uh . . . I really like you," she muttered, bringing her fingers closer together as she fiddled with them.

Naruto blinked a few times, and then smiled an ear-to-ear grin. His sapphire eyes sparkled happily as he patted the top of Hinata's head, making her squeak in alarm. "I really like you too, Hinata," he grinned. "I really like you too."

The Hyuga's creamy-colored eyes grew large in size, her tongue incapable of saying any sort of words. She gazed up at Naruto, feeling her cheeks become crimson once more as she watched him smile and pat her head.

"Hey, are you sure you're feeling all right?" he asked, his giant grin fading slowly away by concern. He placed the hand onto Hinata's forehead as her face became a darker shade of red.

"GYAH! Naruto!" Hinata squealed. Suddenly, she turned around and ran, carrying dust and dirt behind her.

"Hey, Hinata?" The blonde stood there stupidly, his hand still positioned where Hinata's forehead was. "Was it something I did?" he blinked.

"K-Kiba! I finally did it! And Naruto like me too!" Hinata announced as she dashed towards the waiting figure and his dog.

"Really?!" Kiba instantly shot up. "Congratulations! Now, what did you say?"

"Uh . . . 'I really like you'?" Hinata replied.

"AW! HII-NAAA-TAAA!" Kiba shouted, sounding like a whining child.

"What?" she asked innocently.

* * *

**Heh, better luck next time, Hinata!**

**(1) Kit-chan told me it was like a dark, dark, dark, DARK, navy blue color. But, it looks black to me. In the manga.**

**(2) Deeejaaaaa-vuuuuuuu!!!!! I can't seem to find a better way for that.**

**Okay, I'm not all that great with "Naruto." (Ignorant, ignorant, IGNORANT! *kunk, kunk, kunk*) Hope you like this . . . uh . . . thing. Please review! Please! Reviews make you feel all fuzzy inside! Even if it's a flame!! (Yep, I'm weird. So, if you wanna flame, flame away. I'll still be as happy as a . . . something really happy.)**

**Review, review, review! Please? **


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